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Terror Australis
Terror Australis was an Australian competitor robot which competed in The First World Championship and the International League Championship, both filmed as part of Series 3 of Robot Wars. Having been forced to arrive at the studio in pieces following an airport search during transit, it proved unsuccessful in either competition; being eliminated in the first round of the First World Championship after failing to move at all against Mortis, and forced to abandon its first International League battle due to technical issues. For the rest of the International League Championship, Team Nemesis lent the Terror Australis team their original competitor, Nemesis, which was repainted and modified under the name of the original robot. However, this version of Terror Australis proved equally unsuccessful, being eliminated in the Group Stages after losing to Nemesis' successor, Diotoir. Design The original Terror Australis was an invertible, box-shaped robot made out of solid steel, which featured four large wheels with protruding axles, and was armed with a front-mounted circular saw and three rear ramming spikes. The robot was powered by a two-stroke petrol engine sourced from a lawnmower and giving it 4hp of drive, although Jonathan Pearce cited it as having a top speed of only 3mph during its introduction in The First World Championship. Terror Australis was painted green with scowling eyes on the front top panel, narrow black and yellow hazard stripes along the top and bottom, and featured an Australian flag on the end of its aerial. Following Terror Australis' withdrawal from the International League Championship, an altered version of Nemesis was substituted and entered under its name. This incarnation of Terror Australis was largely unchanged from the Series 2 iteration of Nemesis, featuring a 2mm stainless steel body-shell, a yellow and green colour scheme in place of Team Nemesis' signature fur, and static front claws complementing its spear and spike weapons. Its wheel covers and top armour were also decorated with several Australian flags. Etymology Terror Australis' name was a pun on Terra Australis, one of the names given to a hypothetical continent that appeared on European maps from between the 15th and 18th Centuries, once believed to be the location of the geographical South Pole. Robot History Series 3 Terror Australis competed in two international competitions held during filming of the Third Wars, representing Australia in both. In The First World Championship, it faced English representative and UK series veteran Mortis in the first round. However, success was limited; Terror Australis failed to move at all within seconds of the battle starting, with Jonathan Pearce stating that its clutch broke three days before the competition. Mortis immediately charged towards and under the immobile Terror Australis, and after initially struggling to aim its tantō blade properly punched a few holes through its top armour, in between Terror Australis' 'eyes'. Terror Australis was then lifted by Mortis, whose lifting arm became lodged through the gap in its front panel and tore part of its front plating out of shape. Mortis proceeded to push Terror Australis around the arena and onto a grate using its tantō blade, with the Australian machine being eliminated from the First World Championship as a result. Terror Australis also competed in the International League Championship, where in the Group Stages, it was allocated to Group A. It was due to face Belgian representative Depoppesaurus Rex in its first battle, but immediately hit problems when its engine was unable to start, forcing the Terror Australis team to enter the arena in order to try and get it working again. After Derek Foxwell came over to examine Terror Australis and consult the team, the battle was immediately postponed, with the team revealing to Philippa Forrester afterwards that Terror Australis' control box and electronics had completely burnt out. While they stated that Terror Australis was repairable, they could not undertake the required repairs within the allotted time limit, raising concerns about its participation in the rest of the tournament. Fortunately, in a sporting gesture, fellow Group A competitors Team Nemesis lent the Terror Australis team their original robot, Nemesis, and helped repaint it in The Pits. This robot took Terror Australis' name and place in its battle against Depoppesaurus Rex, and began by trundling towards and attempting to spear Depoppesaurus Rex’s side with the spear. Terror Australis was pushed around in circles and lifted by Depoppesaurus Rex in return, but not turned over, and slowly chased the Belgian machine across the arena. However, it turned away and spun on the spot, the two robots momentarily touching each other, before driving up Depoppesaurus Rex's lifter and backing away towards the centre of the arena. It continued to turn, bump and spin around near Depoppesaurus Rex, before getting lifted again and almost being turned over. Terror Australis escaped once again, retreating towards the wall before twice driving into and trying to push Depoppesaurus Rex a few more times. Again, it was lifted by Depoppesaurus Rex, before pushing and nudging the Belgian robot once more before 'cease' was called. With both robots surviving to the end, the battle was declared a draw, with Terror Australis and Depoppesaurus Rex scoring one point each and jointly leading the Group A standings. Next, Terror Australis faced Irish representative, Diotoir; the circumstances surrounding the team's collaboration with Team Nemesis ensured that it was effectively fighting its successor. At the start, it trundled towards and bumped into Diotoir, spinning around as both robots bumped into each other and Diotoir tried to lift it twice using its lifting arm. They kept bumping and nudging each other for some time, all while Terror Australis was pushed back a few times by Diotoir and tore large segments of the latter's fur off using its claws. Terror Australis momentarily drove away before ramming Diotoir head-on, which allowed Diotoir to lift and push it back again. Eventually, Terror Australis was pushed into the pit by Diotoir, to the satisfaction of both teams, and relinquished its Group A points lead to the Irish machine. As a result, it was eliminated from the main competition of the International League Championship. Despite its elimination, the ex-Team Nemesis Terror Australis made one more appearance later on in the International League Championship, this time in the one-off Ashes battle. There, it faced English representative, Mortis, the second time in which both robots' teams faced each other. Terror Australis immediately drove towards Mortis in the opening seconds, attempting to push it from the sides, but not causing any damage with the claws or spear. The two robots brushed each other, with Mortis missing with its axe, and Terror Australis again struggling to pierce Mortis' sides or front. Terror Australis was then pushed back by Mortis onto the Floor Flipper, and hesitated before being pushed and lifted towards – and against - the wall. Mortis hoisted Terror Australis alongside a flamethrower as it pushed it into Shunt, who axed through Terror Australis' top armour and lifted it on top of Mortis. With both robots now stuck together, Mortis dragged Terror Australis away, before pushing it towards the wall and turning it over against the railings. Terror Australis was left helpless as Mortis, Shunt and Dead Metal attacked it again, before the latter placed it onto the Floor Flipper with assistance from Matilda. It was swiftly thrown across the arena, again landing upside-down, before being shoved into the pit by Dead Metal. With this, Terror Australis lost The Ashes to Mortis. Results |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 0 *Losses: 3 *Draws: 1 NOTE: As Nemesis, the replacement Terror Australis lost two battles and drew another Series Record NOTE: Nemesis, the robot which adopted the guise of Terror Australis for the International League Championship, originally competed in Series 1 and 2 of the UK series. Trivia *Terror Australis is one of only two Australian robots ever to compete in Robot Wars, the other being the stock robot Bondi Titch. **Neither robot ever won a battle, although the Terror Australis team did manage to draw one of their battles using a replacement robot (Nemesis). *The original version of Terror Australis was the only robot built in Australia ever to fight in the original run of Robot Wars. *Terror Australis' statistics board in The First World Championship featured the stats for the substitute version leant by Team Nemesis, not the original robot. *In The First World Championship, Terror Australis' image on the team caption appears to be a cropped version of the pre-battle shot of it under the arena spotlight instead of a studio shot like almost all other competitors' statistics boards. This also happens in the International League Championship. *In its battle against Diotoir, the Terror Australis team used Nemesis, Diotoir's predecessor, so this was one of very few occasions where two robots of the same team competed in the arena at the same time. **The battle also marked one of the very few occasions where two robots from a single team fought each other. Most of the other occurrences were in Tag Team Terror competitions, where both robots were teammates (Team Mouse in Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2, Team Juggerbot in Extreme Warriors: Season 1, Top Secret Robotics in Extreme Warriors: Season 2 and Team LOGICOM in Nickelodeon Robot Wars). Category:Australian Robots Category:International event only competitors in the UK Series Category:World Championship competitors Category:Robots with alternate versions Category:Robots with multiple appearances without winning a battle Category:Robots with Circular Saws Category:Robots with Spikes Category:Invertible Robots Category:Robots that drew in a battle Category:Robots with puns for names Category:Robots that bore their nation's flag Category:Robots which debuted in Series 3 Category:Robots which only fought in International Events Category:Robots with versions entered as loanerbots